Planning for Holiday Eating and Perspective, Part 2

Tomorrow morning, I’m getting up like I normally do for work (around 6:30 am) and hitting up the grocery store to get provisions for this year’s Thanksgiving meal for hubby and me. It is our first big holiday post-op, and our first Thanksgiving at home in four years.

Normally, we are traveling during Thanksgiving week since our anniversary typically falls during the holiday week and we are both off work for the week. This year that was not the case, and during the summer we’d decided that we’d stay home since we were unsure about what our financial situation would be after paying for two major surgeries back to back.

Since we were staying home, and fixing a large Thanksgiving spread was out of the question, we decided it best to simply head to the grocery store and let them do the cooking. So tomorrow, we will head to Central Market and pick up the things we will eat for our Thanksgiving dinner.

What’s on the menu? Have a look.

We’ll be enjoying the following sleeve-friendly items:

Herb crusted beef tenderloin, cooked rare

Green beans with roast carrots, hazelnuts and cranberries

Garlic roasted new potatoes

I also decided that we would pick up a dessert item from Eatzi’s, this wonderful upscale grocery/cafe that we go to weekly. They have tiny versions (2-bite versions) of their larger desserts that will allow us to still enjoy dessert while severely restricting the portion size. I don’t believe in deprivation–deprivation leads to wanting the thing you’re being deprived of even more, and then eating it in large quantity once it’s been acquired. Not productive or healthy at all. So rather than feeling like we’re not getting to enjoy the whole Thanksgiving dinner experience, we’re getting a little taste of dessert so that we still have that part of Thanksgiving dinner too. Even if it means we have to eat it later in the day.

I’m planning on logging my dinner meal before it gets eaten so that I stick to my plan, and making sure I drink my usual 100+ oz of water. Just because it’s a holiday doesn’t mean it’s a break from the routine I’ve worked hard to stick to. I’m also hoping the weather stays pretty nice so that we can go for a walk outside a little after we eat. *fingers crossed* Thanksgiving Day is no excuse to be a slug after eating, and thankfully this year I won’t have the room to stuff myself until I’m bloated and full. A walk will be good since I won’t be burning calories cooking.

After we have our Thanksgiving dinner, we’re headed to my Dad’s house, where we’ll not be eating dinner with the rest of the family. When I explained this to my Dad’s wife, she seemed upset and offended and I said, “Well, it is easier for us to measure and weigh things out, and we can’t do that at your house.” She seemed to understand once I explained it like that. Truth be told, I know there will not be much in the way of things high in protein and low in carbs being served and it is just easier to avoid eating it by eating prior to going there than to have things offered and to have to continually refuse them, especially when there are not alternative choices available.

I think our plan for eating success on Thanksgiving Day is a good solid one. It means no stress, no cooking, and no leftovers! My kind of holiday feast indeed!

Hopefully you have a plan for how you will ensure your own success for the day, whether it is making sure you hit your protein goal, or whether it is not making a second trip to the buffet table. Have a plan in place, a backup in case Plan A fails, and a way to be accountable for your actions.

Since I hit another weight loss milestone on Sunday, it was time for another set of perspective photos. So we went to Dick’s Sporting Goods tonight and took these pictures:

Me, with 120 pounds gone. This is what I’ve lost since my second surgical consult in May.

Me, with 160 pounds gone. This is the total I’ve lost from my highest weight. I can’t believe I carried this on my body at one time.

Top: me in September, 75 pounds down. Bottom: me today.

As the weeks go by, I’m constantly amazed at how this surgery has radically changed my health and my body. I still see the nearly 440-pound woman when I look in the mirror, and at times I still move and behave like her. I have to constantly remind myself that I’m smaller than that now, and that I need to act and think like it, but it’s tough. It’s fodder for another post for sure, but I need to gather my thoughts on it before writing anything cogent about it.

Last thing before the food: went shopping since I had a couple of coupons that needed to be used. I discovered that I am down another shirt size. Now I’m in an 18/20. Again…Mind. BLOWN. Five short months ago, I was wearing a tight 26/28 and probably should have been wearing a 30/32.

Time to go through the closet again and cull stuff…this doesn’t get old! I LOVE IT.

Today’s eating was pretty good: 89 grams protein, 40 grams fat and 39 grams of carbs. I’ve been making allowance for a diet hot cocoa each night this week since the weather is chilly, and hot chocolate made with full fat milk and full sugar chocolate syrup isn’t an option at this point in my weight loss process. That’s not to say I won’t have one ever again; right now is not the time. Especially since hot cocoa like that is something I could see myself drinking lots of!

It is! It makes a lot of things easier post-op because there is someone else in the house going through the exact same things. It is also nice because he totally “gets it” when the rest of the world doesn’t.

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Disclaimer

I am neither a medical professional nor am I a mental health professional. I am a bariatric surgery patient sharing what I have learned through my personal experience with the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). I am also a biology educator with a keen interest in obesity research. If you have medical questions or a medical emergency, please contact your doctor or other qualified health professional.